Holy Trinity Cathedral

Today after my New Testament Midterm (around 10am) I went with Rachel, Liddy, and Quin to the Russian compound in West Jerusalem. We wanted to simply see the interior of this Russian Orthodox church so we were really surprised when we entered and there was actually a service going on. Two priests led the service in very low, deep voices. A women's choir made up of nuns dressed in black sang from a balcony above. Their voices were pure and angelic.

As I stood listening to their voices I looked upward into the vaulted ceiling of the church which was painted blue with feather winged angels flying around. It was truly an uplifting experience. There were murals all around the church depicting different prophets and apostles and events in the life of Christ.

The people partook of the sacrament and it was truly a moving experience to watch so many devout people worshipping and demonstrating their love for God.

I wanted to stand, kneel and pray with all those Russian ladies.

I have been to so many churches throughout these months in Jerusalem. Some churches leave greater impressions than others. I have experienced a variety of emotions in each place of worship. I think that before I came to Jerusalem I had a fairly tolerant attitude toward other religions. Through the experiences I have had here this tolerance has developed into a deep love, respect and appreciation for the devout of different faiths.

Jerusalem has tension because the people here tolerate one another. But tolerance does not equal peace. Only when people can move beyond and coexist with mutual love and respect will resolutions be made.

At the core of every conflict is the fragility of human existence. People can point fingers at religion or race but it is harder to hate individuals.

"Human kindness can be found in all groups even those which as a whole it would be easy to condemn" -Victor Frankl